Shafi, Reem M.A.

Background: Social media use is now a central aspect of adolescent life and development. Little is known about the clinical implications of social media use in children and adolescents presenting in acute crisis for psychiatric admission. This study sought to compare the potential effects of social media use among middle and high school students on outcomes of psychiatric morbidity. It was hypothesized that among social media users, high school students would have greater psychiatric morbidity compared with middle school students. Methods: The research team extracted clinical and demographic data from adolescents (aged 12–17 years) presenting for acute psychiatric admission who also had documented social media use ( N = 56). Educational status, middle school ( n = 21) versus high school ( n = 35), was examined as an independent variable. Psychotropic medication use, self-injurious behavior, suicide risk, and suicidal ideation were examined as dependent variables in logistic regression models. Results: High school students using social media had significantly greater predicted odds of psychotropic medication use and self-injurious behavior compared with students in middle school who used social media. High school students using social media had greater, although not statistically significant, predicted odds of suicide risk and suicidal ideation compared with middle school students using social media. Conclusions: Social media use is likely an important factor to consider in psychiatric evaluations. The present findings suggest that social media use in high school students is associated with greater psychiatric morbidity compared with middle school students. Further research could illuminate the developmental lines of social media use and age-specific risks.

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) have varied presentations and frequently occur throughout the trajectory of dementia. Hypersexuality and general disinhibition of societal and cultural norms are commonly documented in all types of dementia. However, sparse literature exists on polyembolokoilamania (insertion of foreign objects in bodily orifices) without a sexual component as a dementia-related symptom. We review an unusual case of a 94-year-old man who presented with urethral polyembolokoilamania without hypersexuality or other behavioral disinhibition. We highlight clinical considerations of managing urethral polyembolokoilamania in an elderly patient without a previous neurocognitive disorder diagnosis. A multidisciplinary team approach with input from Internal Medicine, Urology, Psychiatry, and Neurology lead to a comprehensive assessment of a patient that could have been managed solely as a surgical case. This spearheaded a formal diagnosis of neurocognitive disorder—guiding successful management, follow-up, caregiver education, and reduction of further harm.